Many consumers prefer to take other's opinions into account when making a purchasing decision. Reviews of products and/or services, such as reviews of particular goods (e.g., electronics, clothing, etc.), or a review of the quality of food and/or service at a restaurant, for example, help consumers make informed choices based on the experiences of others. In recent years, online reviews have become an important aspect of the decision making process for many consumers, wherein such reviews have largely become the single most influential aspect in determining consumer buying behavior. In fact, some studies have shown that online consumer reviews of products are the second most trusted form of advertising.
However, current review systems have very little or no means of counteracting biased reviews for content submitted over the internet by users. As a result, online reviews typically suffer from reliability concerns because many websites allow users to submit reviews with little or no verification. In fact, there are many examples of merchants posing as a customer and submitting positive reviews for themselves or submitting negative reviews for their competitors.
Current review system models may be particularly unreliable for certain markets. For example, eBooks and electronic publishing has given rise to a self-publishing industry that is challenging the traditional publishing model. Furthermore, self-publishing companies and online distributors are challenging the status quo of traditional publishing by driving the price of eBooks down and removing barriers to entry for any author willing to publish their own work. Thus, the eBook market is flooded with low-quality work—making it difficult for authors to make a living and for readers to find those authors.
The most significant obstacle for customers in this state of publishing is finding high-quality books to read. Currently, online distributors rely on the “Five Star” rating system to assist customers. However, studies have found that a large portion (almost a third) of all online reviews are faked through individuals or companies hired to produce reviews using “sock puppet” profiles. Accordingly, it is increasingly difficult for consumers to find reliable reviews when deciding on which products to purchase, such as books, for example.
Many consumers prefer to take other's opinions into account when making a purchasing decision. Reviews of products and/or services, such as reviews of particular goods (e.g., electronics, clothing, etc.), or a review of the quality of food and/or service at a restaurant, for example, help consumers make informed choices based on the experiences of others. In recent years, online reviews have become an important aspect of the decision making process for many consumers, wherein such reviews have largely become the single most influential aspect in determining consumer buying behavior. In fact, some studies have shown that online consumer reviews of products are the second most trusted form of advertising.
However, current review systems have very little or no means of counteracting biased reviews for content submitted over the internet by users. As a result, online reviews typically suffer from reliability concerns because many websites allow users to submit reviews with little or no verification. In fact, there are many examples of merchants posing as a customer and submitting positive reviews for themselves or submitting negative reviews for their competitors.
Current review system models may be particularly unreliable for certain markets. For example, Self-Publishing has flooded the eBook market to saturation. In order for authors win the attention of readers, they have resorted to tactics that manipulate the review system by posting reviews on their own work, posting negative reviews about other authors without reading their work, and using fake profiles to generate artificial conversations that lead customers to believe a book is being read more than it actually is.
The most significant obstacle for customers in this state of book publishing is finding high-quality books to read. Currently, online distributors rely on the “Five Star” rating system and algorithms to assist customers. However, studies have found that a large portion (almost a third) of all online reviews are faked through individuals or companies hired to produce reviews using “sock puppet” profiles, which are created by reviewers who are incentivized to provide fictitious reviews (See Jindal et al., “Opinion Spam and Analysis”, Proceedings of First ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining (WSDM-2008), Feb. 11-12, 2008, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., USA). Accordingly, it is increasingly difficult for consumers to find reliable information from customer reviews when deciding on which products to purchase, such as books, for example.